Improvement in grain-driers



J. NORTON, 3d.

vGrain Drier.

No. 56,255. v I Patented Julv 10, 1866.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSHUA NORTON, 3D, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN GRAIN-DRIERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 56,255, dated July 10, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSHUA NORTON, 3d, of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Grain-Drying Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which Figure 1 represents a section of drying-cyl inder, Fig. 2, the upper-end view of the cylinder; Fig. 3, a cross-section of the cylinder, and Fig. 4 a view of stationary head of the lower end of the cylinder.

This invention, being an improvement on the grain-drying apparatus of William H. Dole and David R. Fraser, of Chicago, Illinois, to whom Letters Patent have been granted, dated on the 1st day of September, 1863, and numbered 39,722, has for its object the drying of grain, malt, salt, or other granular substances by means of artificial heat in an apparatus so constructed that the material to be dried in passing through it is subjected to currents of heated air, and at the same time to a stirring, turning, and reciprocating motion, and kept in constant agitation and transition.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents a portion of the building in which the drying apparatus is erected. It is provided with a heating-chamber below containing a suitable furnace, from which the hot air is conducted by one or more pipes, B B, into a revolving cylinder, O, or into each one of the revolving cylinders if more than one is used, entering the lower end and escaping through the upper end of each cylinder into the room, or into a pipe, and out of it through a chimney.

Within the building are arranged one or more inclined cylinders, which, when more than one, communicate with each other at one end of each by means of spouts D, which convey the material to be dried from cylinder to cylinder, whatever number of them there may be. These drying-cylinders consist of the outer cylinder, O, and the inside cylinder, 0 c, to which last is attached the shaft. The outer cylinder is attached to the inside cylinder by radial arms E, arranged in the shape of spiders, which can be attached to the inside cylinder or pass through it and attach to the shaft, as may be desired. Both cylinders revolve on the one shaft and in the same direction. In the space between the two cylinders are fixed radial flanges or ribs F, six or more or less of which are fastened to alternate arms near the outer cylinder, and six or more or less to alternate arms near the inside cylinder. These flanges runto within one foot (more or less) of the ends of the outer cylinder. The upper end has a partial head or circle, G, to prevent the material to be dried (which enters this end) from dropping out and leaving an open space near the shaft for the hot air or vapor to escape, while the lower end, H, is entirely open, and has a stationary head placed against it, against which it revolves. This stationary head I has an opening, J, to which a spout, D, is attached to convey the material to be dried from this to the lower cylinder, and also has two or more or less openings, L L, into which enter the pipes B B, conducting the hot air into this end of the cylinder from the furnace. If the grain is very wet, the hot air may be conducted into the inside cylinder by the pipe M, thus making the temperature of the air between the cylinders higher.

In the accompanying drawings is represented only one cylinder; but in practice there may be used two or more in one set, or several sets together, all of them being constructed and arranged substantially as the one herein represented and described. In this apparatus the material to be dried is put into the hopper N, and conducted thence into the upper end of the first cylinder, and through this cylinder into spout D, which conducts it from the machine if dried, or into the upper end of the next cylinder, through which it passes, and so on through as many cylinders as may be required.

It will be seen that the material in its movement through the machine undulates or vibrates through a space between the outer and inner cylinders. and the cylinders being inclined it must work its way to the lower end,

out of which it passes through the spout D;

- also, that the length of time it remains and moves in this manner in the cylinder can be regulated by having the cylinders of a greater or less length or size, and by increasing or decreasing the inclination or speed of the cylinders.

These cylinders may be made of sheet-iron, cast-iron, or any other material except perfo rated metal, which latter is secured by the original Letters Patent above referred to as having been granted to Dole and Fraser.

As it is necessary to cool the grain or other material after it is dried, I propose to use a 

